


Fearful Symmetry

by reaperlight



Category: Death Note, Death Note: Another Note
Genre: Addiction, Adoption, Adorable, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Animalistic, Animals, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Sexual Situations, Awkwardness, Bedside Vigils, Biting, Breastfeeding, Chains, Childhood, Confessions, Corruption, Cute, Declarations Of Love, Detectives, Ego, Enemy Lovers, Falling In Love, Feral Behavior, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Foe Yay, Foiled Confessions, Forests, French Kissing, Freudian Elements, Friendship, God Complex, Hero Worship, Hostage Situation, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Inappropriate Erections, Insanity, Interspecies, Kink Meme, Kissing, Licking, Love Confessions, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Male-Female Friendship, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Meta, Milking, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Near Death Experience, Pets, Protectiveness, Psychological Trauma, Purring, Russian Mafia, Serial Killers, Shakespeare, Sharing Body Heat, Shinigami, Slash, Snow and Ice, Snowed In, Spirit Animals, Starvation, Stockholm Syndrome, Survival, Taunting, Teenagers, The Yotsuba arc, Tigers, Wammy House, Wilderness, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, Wordcount: Over 10.000, Work In Progress, dark and troubled past, kitties, naked
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-09
Updated: 2012-06-09
Packaged: 2017-11-07 09:36:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/429541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reaperlight/pseuds/reaperlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For all his scheming Light never took into account that he might be kidnapped and stranded in the middle of the wilderness with his nemesis. Neither did L. Future Yaoi Light/L, L/Light</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Into the Wild

_Dammit, Rem. It was supposed to be L._ Light groaned as he retrieved Rem's notebook from the dust pile and stashed it in the waistband of his pants. Light hurried as he heard the approach of some of the survivors. He currently had no way to obtain their names and no other Shinigami out there willing to die for him. There was no time to remove the damned chain—Light hoisted the limp detective over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes (for all the candy he shoved in his mouth the detective weighed surprisingly little) and made his escape.

In the end it came down to a choice: stay there and be discovered by the surviving gangsters that Rem didn't get around to killing-certain death-or make a break for it and expect a longer, more lingering death out in the Siberian wilderness. Never one to make it easy, Light chose the latter. After all where there was life there was hope, right?

***

"Shit!" Light cursed as he lugged an unconscious Ryuuzaki up the icy peak. At least it looked like he lost their pursuers. But for the sake of haste he had sacrificed his footing on the icy slope and now he was forced to make a split-second decision: drop the supplies he managed to grab as he fled the gangster's hideout or drop Ryuuzaki (and since they were still chained together that meant they would both die) though for some reason during that split second that last little tidbit didn't even come to mind. He clung to his archenemy and watched hopelessly as the bag fall away into oblivion.

***

After trudging with his load for an hour in the absolute cold Light finally felt exhaustion catching up with him. He just needed a moment to catch his breath. Just then by luck or chance or some chosen destiny he came upon a rocky alcove that was perfect for this. From his resting space he could observe the landscape and anyone who might be coming after them but Light and his raven-haired companion couldn't be seen in it as it was concealed within the face of the mountain. There was no longer any sign of their pursuers but Light didn't want to take his chances.

But now that he had the opportunity to rest his body, and no longer had to worry about immediate torture and death, Light was seething. How dare these _thugs_ interrupt things between him and L! He had never anticipated that he and Ryuuzaki might get abducted by one of L's old enemies in the middle of the night and deposited in the middle of the Siberian wilderness. From the look of it L hadn't either.

It wasn't fair. Just when he was about to call checkmate on L an outsider had to come along and overturn the board. Now it all lay in ruins. And once they got back, _if_ they got back the thirteen day trap was still in effect but without Rem there was no way...

No, that wasn't true. Light had L's real name now. Unable to finish writing it, Rem had croaked it out as she crumbled to dust. "L L-A-W-L-I-E-T."

***

L Lawliet sagged against him where Light had placed him next to him against the rocky wall of the cave. He was still out of it. Perhaps he should be worried...

 _Dammit he's L. Why should I care? He stands in the way of true justice, not to mention he wants me dead!_ Light glared at L for a moment, just watching the rise and fall of his chest. _But then again, it would be suspicious if I didn't pretend to care. Pretending to care is safer..._

So Light fussed over L never mind there was no audience to play to out here. He wasn't really worried, nope, not at all...

The gangsters had tortured them both for days but it was L that bore the brunt of their wrath. This whole thing seemed very personal and while Light's knowledge of Russian was limited it sounded to him like this Boss Keehl seemed to be under the mistaken impression that Ryuuzaki stole his son.

Light didn't know how much stock he wanted to put in some criminal's words. After all, while L's methods were sometimes underhanded L was for the most part an honorable opponent, a worthy challenge for Kira. Light sincerely doubted his enemy, THE L who claimed to be justice, went around abducting small children. Light meant to ask L about it once he woke up. Sure, L was a liar, but Light would believe L over some criminal any day. (Light had worked with L for three months unaware of his own purposes and as he had planned there was now a level of trust between them. Light hadn't really considered that it might go both ways.) L wasn't like the trash Kira took out on a regular basis. L was different. L was... worthy.

And L was warm. Light hugged the unconscious man into his chest like a giant teddy bear and huddled against him.

At first Light had cursed that Rem hadn't finished writing L's name before crumbling to dust but as he watched his enemy's (rare) unconscious form Light decided it would have been cheap. L was Kira's enemy but he deserved better than that.

Light shivered against the cold. He was only wearing what he managed to grab from the gangster's hideout—just a simple coat over his pajama top and a pair of leather pants. But with this cold he might as well have not been wearing anything at all. It felt like the wind cut to the bone. He had thrown a coat on L as well before making a run for it. It would be inconvenient, not to mention incriminating if he let L freeze to death. Light just sat there a moment studying the cuts and scrapes, the bruised eyelids of...

_The invincible L._

Light traced his fingers through his hair. He looked so _human._

 _How did a common criminal like Keehl manage to find you and break into your headquarters? Is there a leak on the taskforce? Maybe Aiber or Wedy? Matsuda might be stupid enough to blab. Mogi... possibly. He gives me the creeps. You never know WHAT he's thinking. It's not dad of course, or Watari..._ The old man seemed like a father-figure to Ryuuzaki. Light doubted he would so betray him.

_But then again..._

A dark memory returned unbidden of his own father putting the gun against his head. Though it was a ruse at the time, Light had no doubt there would be a replay if his father or the others discovered his secrets. No doubt if there was a next time they would use real bullets. Light worked hard to banish the image.

To Light's eternal embarrassment he had... _frozen_ when the gangster did the same about--was it really only an hour ago? Light didn't want to think about it. He never really liked guns but an outright phobia would prove detrimental if he wanted to join the police force one day.

It happened all at once. Boss Keehl was shouting at L threatening to kill his "little boyfriend" (Light scoffed, _as if!_ ) right in front of him. Ryuuzaki had unexpectedly broken lose and lunged at their captors. He took four of them down before being knocked out in the ensuing struggle. Light hadn't expected that. Nor what Rem did. The Shinigami, who was bound to follow him since he had reclaimed ownership had up till then stayed out of sight. But when the gangsters threatened his life... Light hadn't expected the Shinigami to act like that either, sacrificing herself for seemingly his sake alone. Well she must have also come to the conclusion that Misa couldn't live without him as he had hoped she would but... Light unconsciously held L tighter. This didn't go as planned.

He had L's name. He had the notebook. If he wanted to he could kill L Lawliet right now. Light removed a pen from his pocket and gave it a twirl between his slender fingers. Of course he couldn't kill him now. It would be impractical given the current circumstances what with these thrice damned handcuffs to consider—it's not like he wanted to lug a corpse around. But still just the idea... it was fun to image. That name gave him the power over his opponent he was lacking from the very beginning. Light was giddy with the elation of victory. No, L was no longer an equal, a nameless force. L was just another human with a name and Light as God of this New World could bring his wrath against his enemy whenever he chose. He leaned in even closer against his sleeping foe to whisper that name aloud, his victory, into unhearing ears.

 _L Lawliet. Lawliet. That's French so it would be pronounced..._ Light experimentally said the name aloud in scarcely a whisper.

"Low Light."

Unknown to Light a look of horror steadily spread across his face.

_L Low-light. Yagami Light. Eru Roraito. Yagami Raito. What kind of sick joke is this? His name sounds like..._

Sure it was spelled quite differently, it was even a different language, but the idea had still taken hold—killing L... it would be like killing himself. Obliviously, Lawliet snuggled against him looking so harmless, so helpless in sleep...

_Looks can be deceiving..._

Still Light cast his pen aside as if it were a bitter poison.

***

Light forced himself back to his feet. He had rested long enough and if he fell asleep here as his body was severely tempted to do, they were dead. There was still a chance of getting caught by the surviving thugs though that wasn't his main concern now— _that_ would be the fact that they were stuck in the middle of the wilderness with no supplies. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Actually a frying pan AND a fire sounded pretty good right now as Light hugged the unconscious detective closer to him, shuddering hard. His stomach made an embarrassingly loud noise. During their stay among Keehl's cartel the gangsters hadn't been too concerned about feeding them. Light couldn't remember the last time he ate. Reality began to set in. If he didn't find them food and get a fire started they'd be dead in hours...

If he could get a fire started it wouldn't be a problem. He had fuel for it—the Death Note never runs out of pages. Unfortunately there was nothing like wood or flint conveniently lying around. Light pulled his notebook out and glared at it. Maybe if he glared at it angrily enough it would catch fire on its own accord.

Nope he hadn't developed the ability to shoot laser beams from his eyes in the last five minutes. Damn. No fire. No food. Just barren snow and ice as far as the eye could see. There were no prospects here.

_So cold..._

This wasn't just a little chilly. This was like dark side of the moon cold. This was no joke. This was "oh shit, I'm going to die" cold. And it would be even colder outside this little crawlspace. But he had to keep moving.

_Dammit, Ryuuzaki, wake up already!_

He was wasting so much energy lugging him around... Light tried to lift Ryuuzaki again with trembling hands. The room spun and suddenly he was falling on his ass. Light glared at the unconscious detective who was sprawled on top of him. That was his fault somehow. Light felt a pang of fear as the world became dark around the edges.

_No._

He struggled up again. He couldn't give in so easily! He couldn't die out here he was... God. Well, he was going to be God. He hadn't quite figured out how to be invincible yet, he was still working on that part though he was sure he could if he just gave it enough time. Light began a bout of insane giggling which soon turned into a coughing fit. Even when Shinigami followed him around, never had death felt so immediate. He couldn't die! He had so much work left to do! Without him the world would continue to rot. Only _he_ could do it. He didn't trust anyone else with this responsibility. Just look at Misa and Higuchi, killing for such selfish reasons! Killing innocents! (Of course every name he wrote was completely justified; _he_ would never kill without good reason...) But what happened to the world if he died right now? What would it all be _for_ if he didn't succeed? Dying was the same as losing. If he won Kira was justice but if he lost...

He had to win.

But seeing as L was already unconscious that meant he was in the lead... He was winning. L already wore the pallor of the dead...

_No! If I don't get to lie down and die then neither do you. WAKE. UP!_

Light shook him but Ryuuzaki remained unresponsive. Ryuuzaki's skin was cold to the touch, colder than his. Light didn't think that was possible. He began to panic in earnest.

_What am I going to do?_

Light didn't think he had the strength to move them again. There was no hope of rescue. Would this be the fate of Kira and L to die out here alone and forgotten in the snow? Would anyone even care? No one would even mourn their passing...

Light had a sudden yearning to call his mother and sister. He hadn't seen or heard from them in months.

 _Yeah, but if I had my cell phone I wouldn't exactly be in this mess now, would I?_ Light clenched his fist. _Pathetic._ He scolded himself for his moment of weakness. People would miss him if he... ( _I'm not going to die. Not yet. I can't..._ ) Unlike L...

Light always knew someone who lived so anonymously would die just as anonymously. Had his plan with Rem worked L would no doubt be placed in an unmarked grave and in time only Light would pay respects to the greatest hero that he had ever known...

 _Wait. WHAT?_ Light massaged his forehead with ice-numbed fingers. Obviously the cold must be beginning to affect his brain. His stomach made another noise indicating it was eating itself.

 _So hungry... I've come this far, I have to make it SOMEHOW._ All he had was the Notebook and Ryuuzaki... God no, he would not resort to cannibalism. That left... _The notebook never runs out of pages._

Swallowing a scrap when he had regained his memories had shown no adverse effects. But was he really desperate enough to...? Light tried and failed to lift Ryuuzaki again. He had to work hard just to remain standing and watched his panting breaths freeze before his eyes. His stomach again made a sound that was more appropriate being emitted by an apple-deprived Shinigami then from him and Light decided that yes, yes he was that desperate. He ripped out a page, first getting it wet and mushy with the snow. He hesitated for a moment, holding the killing paper apprehensively.

No, the notebook was his to use as he saw fit.

Light shoved down any remaining trepidation and common sense and forced it into his mouth and began to chew it. He expected it to taste nasty, the texture was nasty enough, but instead it was almost overly sweet and... was it his imagination or was there just a vague hint of apples? Maybe this was like drinking radiator fluid. In retrospect this was probably a bad idea... well, too late now... he'd see it through to the end. Light ignored lingering doubts and forced the paper paste down his throat.

After a few moments his stomach roared with hunger again, almost as if to say "Well is that it?" but Light refrained from doing that again until he saw how it would affect him.

Having deluded himself into thinking he had eaten, Light managed to find some reserve of strength to pick up Ryuuzaki, and _keep going_ through the snow. _The Death paper was sweet enough. Maybe Ryuuzaki would like some too..._ He'd have to find some plausible lie about what it was though; or come up with some non-incriminating explanation...

_Why isn't Ryuuzaki waking up?_

About twenty minutes later Light had to stop again as he became violently ill. He nearly didn't put L down in time before he was wracked with pain, he fell to his hands and knees. It felt like his insides were trying to crawl outside as he coughed up his ill-thought out lunch and there was the paper mush again. Really, he tried to eat _that?_ What the hell was wrong with him? _I'm starving that's what was wrong._

The sweat from his sickness froze in his hair, his very bones ached and his hands and knees became numb as they pressed into the snow. Light tried and failed to get up again and settled for pulling himself along on his hands and knees through the snow to where Ryuuzaki lay, blue and unmoving.

_NO!_

"Ryuuzaki. Hey! _Come on_ Ryuuzaki!"

Did he somehow die on him unnoticed while he was lugging him around?

 _No you can't be dead!_ "Dammit Ryuuzaki! After all this--you can't die this easily!"

Light slapped him. No response.

"C'mon!" Light shook him in earnest. _"Wake up, dammit!"_ If Ryuuzaki died here he would be cheated out of his victory.

That had to be it. L couldn't die now! L was his! That must have been what this odd feeling was that Light got in his chest was when Ryuuzaki remained cold and unresponsive, Light didn't like this feeling as it seemed inclined to turn him into a gibbering mess.

"Ryuuzaki!" Light held Ryuuzaki to him and something that looked suspiciously like tears fell and froze in the detective's hair as Light howled madly at the other, trying anything, ANYTHING to get a reaction, to get him to wake up...

"L Lawliet!" In his delirium between spewed insults, shouting, hitting, and pleading like a, well, deranged lunatic that L wake up Light whispered secrets to L's unhearing ears.

"L, before you challenged me... no even after... I-I've always admired you. You were my hero growing up." It was unnecessarily dangerous, it was _stupid_ but...

 _"I'm sorry Light Yagami the Genius isn't home right now. If you would like to leave a message he'll get back to killing you as soon as possible..."_ Perhaps it stemmed from the same compulsion he had to gloat over downed enemies.

"I am Kira."

Still nothing.

"L, I don't really have a problem with the way you sit or the way you eat. I actually think it's kind of cute. When we get back there's this one bakery. I always thought you'd enjoy it... So you see you _can't_ die now..."

"Why did we never get around to another tennis match?"

Light closed his eyes and snuggled into L's raven mane.

"You know, I lied, I do like sweets but it's _girly_ and I don't want to get fat."

"You know when you put on the handcuffs I was kind of hoping Misa was right..."

"I think I love you—"

That was when L seemed to decide to take in a sudden coughing, wheezing breath and his eyes fluttered open.


	2. Lost Children

_Crap! How much did he...?_

"Ryuuzaki!" Light held him and sobbed.

L took in another rasping breath trying to speak.

"Ryuuzaki, what's wrong?"

"Sugar..." he gasped out "I-I need..."

_Sugar? Seriously we're stuck out here and he's worried about..._

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

 _Of course! It's so obvious! With the amount of sugar he consumes his body would be totally dependent on it! How long has it been since he...?_ This wasn't like Ryuk doing funny handstands when he didn't have his apples. Withdrawal here meant L's body shutting down. If he didn't find food, didn't find _sugar_ very soon L would die.

The notebook was out of the question considering what it did to _him_ and just looking at L as he lay there in the snow, looking so weak and uncharacteristically passive... his body wouldn't be able to handle the attempt. _He_ could barely handle it. He had to find him _real_ food. The nearest sources of sugar would be that bag of supplies that he lost at the bottom of the ravine or... back at the gangster's hideout. Either way he'd never make it in time...

With new urgency, and ignoring the pain Light forced himself onto his feet again. In protest to this treatment his body tried to wretch again even though there was nothing left in his stomach.

"Light-kun..." L croaked. Light quickly got his nausea under control and with strength he didn't know he had left he picked up his ailing companion off the frozen ground, carrying him bridal style. Without even thinking about it L snuggled into the warmth of Light's chest. Light resumed trudging through the coming snowstorm like a wounded beast.

All the while L stared, and though his eyes still seemed heavy and glazed they held a ghost of that hard, accusatory stare the detective always wore. Light's lips quirked up in something like a strained smile. Ryuuzaki must be feeling better.

"What are you doing?" L demanded in scarcely a whisper.

"There's no food here."

L could feel how Light was trembling, his strength failing. "Light-kun..."

"I'm alright."

"You're sick," L observed.

"I'm not sick. I just did something stupid."

"Hmm," L chose not to comment as Light, _Kira,_ continued to work to save his life. It was a struggle for L to just to stay conscious and it wasn't exactly to his advantage to antagonize Light at the moment.

It seemed like ages later Light had to stop to be sick again.

L sagged against Light's shaking frame, continuing to cling to the other for the scant warmth that he offered. Light slumped in the snow, his body racking with pain. Light got up again, still holding and carrying L and began again through the snow, one foot in front of the other. He continued to struggle though it was hopeless... _So typical of Kira._

"Light-kun," L groaned into Light's shoulder as Light collapsed again. "You're in no condition to..."

"Shut up!" Light snapped. "You're even worse off than I am!"

No argument there even as Light swayed as he took in another faltering step (and another ragged breath) but... "You'll drop me."

"Then you'd better stay awake then, huh?" Light hissed

A few steps later Light stumbled again.

"You should rest." L murmured. Light shot him a glare. To rest out _here_ was the same thing as lying down and dying.

"We'll worry about that after we find you sugar."

L looked at Light like he was delusional. Now that he was more awake it was becoming a reality. Sugar? Out here? Impossible. They'd never make it. Rescue... _Watari_ wouldn't find them in time. They were going to die...

Light felt how L trembled in his arms. "You okay?"

L looked at Light quizzically, he was sure he detected a note of genuine concern.

"I'm fine..." L hadn't intended to ask but with his head swimming like this his curiosity got the better of him. "Light-kun... why?"

"What?"

"Why are you doing this? As Kira..."

"I'm not Kira," Light answered automatically, turning his face away against the bitter wind.

"But why? You'd make it further on your own..."

"Not true. We actually have a better chance of survival if we stick together. Besides..." Light rattled the chain in reminder. If the cold metal was biting into L's wrist anything like it was his then L shouldn't have forgotten it for a moment--that he did, if he was really that numb to the cold--Light clutched L tighter to his chest.

"Li-Light-kun..." L was taken aback by the killer hugging him.

"Hang in there, Ryuuzaki. We have to make it!"

It felt like hours later when Light staggered and collapsed again. L looked on in concern from his perch on Light's back. Light didn't dare put him down again even to be sick as they would lose precious body heat.

L was left wondered just what "something stupid" Light did that he was still getting sick.

As Light flailed around in the snow, L spied something black being unearthed by the other's movements.

"Light-kun?" L pointed out the dark growths sticking up out of the ground. Light gave one an experimental tug and with much effort the root came out of the frozen ground. It looked like some kind of root. Light gave it an experimental lick. It tasted sweet like... sugar. Light felt his stomach reel again at the very idea of food.

L misinterpreted the look on Light's face. "It's not edible?"

"No it's not that. It's... a sugar beet...?"

L dared to hope. "You're sure?"

"Pretty sure, what do you think?" Light passed L the root. L nibbled at the root and yes...precious, precious sugar.

"H-hey I think they have to be processed somehow..." Light said in alarm as L began to chew on it. L ignored him and continued to eat it raw. Light sighed. "Don't eat too fast you'll get sick."

"Do you want some, Light-kun?"

Light's stomach churned with hunger and nausea. He was still reeling from his earlier ill-thought out experiment. "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

L stared at Light as he continued to search for and pull up more of the roots and stuff them into his pockets. Now that had to be a bald-faced lie. Light turned his attention back to Ryuuzaki to find that he had nearly consumed the entire thing..

"Hold it. If you eat too much now you'll get sick and these have to last for..."

L's burgeoning sense of hope was crushed as he realized, "Too long," especially since they had to ration between the two of them. Even if taken all together this was still only a micron of his usual sugar intake...

"You can have them. You need them more than I do."

L gaped at his mortal enemy in shock. "Why?"

"I couldn't stomach it right now anyway," Light replied though they both knew he hadn't answered the true question.

Light somehow dragged himself to his feet again, his arms, back, and shoulders again taking on the burden of the other man's weight.

"You don't have to carry me," L insisted in almost a whisper. "I think I can walk now..."

Reluctantly Light set him down. L took two steps before being claimed by a dizzy spell. Before he could collapse he was in the other man's arms again.

"You were saying?" Light couldn't help but smile as Ryuuzaki huffed cutely.

***

L groaned as did his stomach. He huddled against Light for warmth as Light continued to carry him through the ever-worsening snow storm. He was so hungry. The little bit of sugar had just made him ravenous for more and his body felt a bone-weary exhaustion he wasn't able to fight without his usual sugar and caffeine. His head pounded as he still reeled from the effects of withdrawal. L tried but he couldn't keep his eyes open.

L dreamed.

L dreamed he was somewhere warm and safe and he had plenty to eat of whatever he wanted. And he was eating something warm and juicy and slightly salty...

"Shit! Ryuuzaki, wake up!"

The chill reality hit in the face as L awoke with a start to discover he had somehow managed to burrow under Light's scarf in his sleep and had begun gnawing at Light's neck. As the blood trickled down L knew that would leave a nasty hicky behind.

"I'm not edible," Light grumbled but otherwise showed no inclinations of stopping despite the injury as he continued on through the frozen wastes.

"Light-kun won't let me eat him?" L asked innocently.

Light rolled his eyes as he huffed and struggled up another frozen slope. "Either the... cold is beginning... to affect you too... or Misa was right—you are a pervert."

"You're the one who said it," L shot back petulantly.

"Really Ryuuzaki, the taste..." Light took in a deep breath, his exhaustion beginning to become obvious, his lungs struggling to take in the thin, frigid air, "...must have been a tip off," Light continued, chidingly. "I'm not..." Light grunted as he pulled them up a particularly steep incline "...very sweet."

Light crested the peak and they got a panoramic view of the land around them. It was more frozen wastes as far as the eye could see. L shivered and not just from the cold as he was once again reminded they were as good as dead out here.

"I fail to see the rationale behind continuing this, Light-kun. The chances of our survival are..."

"Don't tell me!" Light snapped, he knew full well, but giving up was definitely not an option. "I don't want to hear any more damned percentages!"

"Maybe... we should go back?"

Light shot L an irritated look. "Not a chance... They'll kill us on sight." Light continued on, he knew if he stopped now his exhaustion would catch up with him and if he surrendered to exhaustion out here... they would never wake up.

"Maybe if I bargain with Keehl..." L thought out loud, trying to find some logical answer to their current plight.

Light looked askance at the detective. The cold must have been making him delusional. That guy couldn't be bargained with! And in any case... Light sighed "That's impossible. Keehl's dead."

" _What!?_ How?" L demanded suspiciously.

"Oh that's right, you were... unconscious," Light wheezed as he continued plodding up the slope. "He just collapsed... Well him and a bunch of them. That's how we got away... Kira, I imagine."

"I do too... since Light-kun is Kira."

"Really... this again?" Light groaned. "Please, Ryuuzaki I don't... want to waste... the energy... arguing with you on this. Besides... I was tied... to a chair, if you recall. When was I..." Light strained, almost losing his balance for a moment before steadying himself and continued as normal "...s'posed to've killed him?"

L's black eyes bore into his head. "If anyone could have pulled it off it would've been you."

Light blinked in confusion at that. That was almost like a compliment (but to acknowledge it as such would be incriminating.) "I guess... your feeling better. You haven't accused me for... hours that has to be a record."

In truth L wasn't feeling better. Just crankier... that came from feeling the crushing weight of hopelessness and despair, but needling Light made him feel a bit better about it and at this point he was long past caring if he bit the hand that fed.

"But it is puzzling that Kira-kun didn't just kill all of them. Staying at a warm base even if it did belong to criminals makes more sense than freezing to death out here and... hmmm... running away..."

_"What?!"_

"That's what you did. It was merely a statement of fact, Light-kun."

Light glared murderously. Why the hell did he have to say it like that? That was a serious blow to his pride. "Would you have preferred we stick around and get our heads blown off?"

L seemed to seriously consider it. "Perhaps, it would have been more comfortable cause of death then our current option."

Light didn't answer other than to give a frustrated growl as he continued on, unyielding in his losing battle against the snow.

"...And in any case, it's a very un-Kira-like trait. The Kira I know is very confrontational. Or maybe you were counting on me to make that assumption...? Well I suppose you didn't know their names and couldn't kill them... which begs the question on how you killed Keehl and the others... assuming you're telling me the truth, of course... And I suppose even Kira has bad days. After all Kira is not bullet-proof. He's not immortal or some all-powerful God, Kira is _ONLY HUMAN..._ "

Light stumbled and they both fell, face-down, in the snow. Light struggled to get up on shaking limbs only to fall again. The snow gave way and they sunk a few feet down into the icy depths.

"It's pointless, Light-kun."

"Giving up is pointless!" Light shot back, angrily.

"Does Kira-kun think he's too important die?"

"Shut up! You'll die too, asshole!"

 _That,_ L thought sadly as they lay next to each other, half-buried in the snow, _is a certainty anyway._ "Why even bother?"

Light's answer surprised both of them.

"Because there's this one bakery over in Toshima, I swear it's got the best deserts in the world and I can't take you there... if we're dead, now can I?" Light shouted near hysterically.

L was quiet for such a long time that Light thought he had drifted off again or... With sudden panic, Light followed the length of the chain crawling on his hands and knees, every inch gained was sheer torment to his sick, exhausted body. But he managed to cover the few feet that lay between them until he was again sharing his body heat with the prone detective.

"You were wrong, Light-kun..." Light heard L whisper but didn't dignify that with a response as he continued to struggle just to crawl over to where the detective had fallen. "You are ...sweet."

L's eyes slowly closed and he seemed to sag lifelessly into Light's arms...

"Ryuuzaki! RYUUZAKI! HEY!" Something wet streamed down Light's face as he continued to shake the other man, the tears froze as they fell.

Light's scream was all but lost in the howling wind of the storm.

***

However it didn't go unnoticed by a certain denizen of the frozen land. Ears perked up, the sleeping beast awoke to the primal, one-note song that spoke volumes on pain and loss, rage and sorrow...

It was a language which the creature was intimately familiar...

Was some prey injured nearby? (Well, meat was meat...)

The creature emerged from its den to find two very odd creatures had collapsed just outside of the snow-concealed entrance of the cave. They were like hairless apes with tufts of fur on top of their heads. One was a fiery shade of brown, almost orange (no stripes though, the creature mused) the other a solid black. They were both obviously weakened by the cold. One was unmoving. The other seemed confused.

The creature's killer instincts were telling her to strike at the weakened prey but the creature wasn't particularly motivated to do so at the moment. She had just hunted earlier and wasn't hungry. It was more out of curiosity that it approached those little ones.

Just then the brown-furred one seemed to sense her approach and locked eyes with her. The creature was surprised. The little thing's eyes were fierce and defiant, almost like one of her people. To her kind staring was a signal of challenge, a threat...

"Go 'way! Leave 'im alone!" The brown one snarled. It was apparent that the human was trying to appear threatening, however he was obviously so weak at the moment that all he managed was a kittenish swipe with his fist before he too collapsed in exhaustion. The creature looked amused. The little thing didn't look the least bit threatening to her. On the contrary it was... adorable.

While she wasn't normally inclined to do anything with another species aside from eat it the creature still thought of itself as a mother-despite having lost her own cubs to starvation. But the times had turned around, hunting was good now—but tragically it was not soon enough to save her own cubs. These two strange creatures were like lost children... or rather like the children that she lost.

Just then the dark-haired one groaned in his sleep and snuggled into the brown haired one... they were just too adorable to resist. The decision was clear as instinct. The tigress snagged hold of the convenient metal string that bound the two young human males together and dragged them into her den.


	3. Woodland Spirits

_*Tap, tap.*_

"Go 'way, don't wanna," Light groaned as he felt someone or something pawing at him.

 _*Tap, tap.*_ Whoever it was, they were insistent. As Light was slowly returned (kicking and screaming) back to consciousness the first thing he noticed was he wasn't cold. He felt the warmth beside him and an almost crushing weight above him. In a half-asleep haze Light failed to find that a concern, because the other heat source, the curled up warmth to his side felt just like L…

_L!_

Light frantically glanced to his side and identified that it was indeed L curled up into him and… Light flushed as he realized they were almost nose-to-nose. L sucked his thumb as his eyes fluttering in his sleep.

Asleep.

Just asleep. L was alive.

Light breathed out a sigh of relief. However, before he could question his own responses he startled fully awake as he felt something warm, wet, and rough dragging along his cheek. Light turned his head slowly… and came face to face with a Siberian tiger.

Light's eyes went wide. He stifled a scream as he snapped fully awake and remembered everything that had happened just before he blacked out-how he had fearlessly charged the tiger… well okay, he was delirious with cold, and honestly it was apathy more than bravery. Once you've had Shinigami showing up in your bedroom in the dead of night and following you around more mundane monsters just didn't seem that scary. Sure the threat of death existed but having said death god eating from your hand kind of gave the illusion of having tamed it. However, this was definitely not the case here. Light's mind went into overdrive trying to find a way out of this scenario. The books he had read said that if you're ever lost in the woods and happen upon a big cat you're supposed to make yourself look big, open your coat, rattle pots and pans and make a lot of noise… Yeah, that wasn't very helpful at the moment. He was already pinned beneath a seven hundred pound cat. But… He was unconscious for how long and the tiger just let them sleep? Wouldn't it make more sense to eat them when they could offer no resistance? (Not that they had any hope of resisting against a _tiger_ -it's jaws could crush your skull and a single swipe of its paw could rip through a human being like tissue paper.) Perhaps it just enjoyed playing with its food…

Shit! There was no contest here. This wasn't a Shinigami. It couldn't be bargained, bribed, or reasoned with. No, not a Shinigami—it was more like L.

No, _exactly_ like L.

The white tiger sat hunched above him, trapping him with it's gaze, staring with those all-seeing midnight blue eyes that were unblinking, inescapable, and seemed to be able to see right into your soul (and find you lacking.) And was he hallucinating or did the pattern of its stripes on its forehead even seem to form the gothic letter "L" of his dauntless, merciless nemesis? (Light didn't expect the tiger to show any more mercy.) The great beast opened its maw putting its mouthful of fangs on display, a mouth that was currently less than an inch from his own face, and made a deep, rumbling sound. Light's bladder released on its own accord.

Light swore the tiger seemed amused, wearing an appropriately catty smile.

It leaned down and rubbed his cheek with its own. Light again recognized this behavior from his readings. It was like a cat and its owner… or rather, that was a misnomer. It was like a cat and the person it _claimed._ (Cats weren't _obedient_ like dogs—cats were arrogant little shits who thought they ruled the universe.) It was a sign of affection and possession—felines both big and small have scent glands in their cheeks that they used to mark their territory. Or in laymen terms it was like the tiger was putting up a little sign on him for other felines saying "Mine bitches. Do not touch!"

Just like his last four girlfriends.

At this, Light felt a little bit less embarrassed about having pissed himself as he realized it might have just saved his life. Animals roll on their backs and piss themselves to show deference. And maybe, just maybe… it seemed the tiger had accepted what it saw as his deference. Light dared to hope that this was a "Mine" as in "I like you" and not a "Mine" as in "for dinner." He didn't dare move a muscle as the tiger licked at his cheek and neck.

"H-Hey."

Light sucked in a wheezing terrified breath as the tiger bit his shoulder—not enough to injure or even break the skin but it was holding him with its teeth—like it was claiming ownership. The tiger released him and made an odd rumbling, almost cow-like noise. It sounded like it was growling but the body language was nonthreatening. Light remembered another useless factoid from his readings-only little cats purr; big cats don't have the vocal cords for it. So even though it sounded like it was growling…

"Nice kitty. You're a _nice_ kitty…" Light said trying to mask his panic beneath a soothing tone. The tiger released him and rumbled in response, nuzzled against him and quickly falling into a pattern of 'lick, lick, cuddle...'

Light gaped in shock and after a few minutes experimentally pet it back. The tiger seemed pleased, leaning into his touch.

"You ARE a nice kitty," Light said in surprise as the tiger had yet to eat him. Light relaxed a bit as the tiger continued to cuddle against him; the tiger even permitted him to scratch its ear.

"I'm talking to a tiger," Light deadpanned. "That does not bode well for my sanity."

"I'm sure that's long gone, Light-kun."

"Ryuuzaki?" Light startled upon hearing L's voice. Light didn't dare to move but he cautiously glanced over, looking out of the corner of his eye. L was indeed awake—he had propped himself up on one arm, studying him intently.

"I was unaware that Kira's powers extended to the animal kingdom," L remarked as the wild tiger continued to snuggle up against Light.

"I'm not Kira! And I didn't do anything! The tiger brought us here himself!" Light whispered in a hushed tone lest he upset the creature.

"Lovely," L remarked. "You know, I can honestly say I never expected I'd end up dying this way—as cat chow."

"I… I don't think he wants to hurt us or he would have done so by now." Light really hoped he wasn't jinxing himself…

"That's an… optimistic way of looking at it. You know she might be saving us for later."

_"She?"_

Both froze when the tiger growled apparently offended by Light's outburst. Just because it wasn't killing him _now_ didn't mean that they weren't dealing with a dangerous predator. Both Light and L remained silent, not daring to move a muscle. Point made, the tiger resumed licking Light.

"Why the hell would you think that I had anything to do with this?" Light hissed after a fearful moment of silence.

"Ever visit India? Malaysia? Thailand?"

Light shot L a nasty look. "When could I have done _THAT?_ Surely that's in my _file._ I've never been out of the Kanto region!"

"Your father's work, correct? I wonder… did Light-kun hate his father for that?"

" _What?_ "

The tigress grumbled at the noise they were making and they both fell silent again. Satisfied, she resumed washing Light, running her rough tongue through his hair as if he was her own cub. The tiger moved down to lick his shirt, made a face, and then took the fabric in her teeth and ripped it open. Light froze completely, at first not even daring to breathe as the tigress began vigorously licking his bare chest raw.

Light was very unnerved by their current circumstances but L's question demanded a reply… After a long awkward silence Light snapped indignantly. "Why would I? He's doing the world a service, taking the bad guys off the street…!"

"And so, Light-kun became resentful of criminals…"

Light fell silent again. "You know what? I'm done talking to you. You're putting words in my mouth—"

"I have been to all those places," L interrupted with his typical bluntness.

Light looked surprised that the mysterious detective would tell him so much about himself.

"Nothing in that story will lead to L's true identity. They're very nice, by the way. Perhaps I might take Light-kun there one day… that is if I don't have to show Light-kun the inside of a prison cell for the rest of his short life."

Light sighed, trying to ignore the detective's jibes and that, to his shame and discomfort, the constant licking he was receiving was beginning to have an _effect_ on him. "Is there a point to all this?"

"Hmmm… it's just some cultures hold that tigers are Gods of Justice that dole out Divine Retribution."

L could see he had Light's attention.

"Or rather, in some versions they are the vehicles, possessed by the Gods. They are worshipped because they are such fierce killers... Doesn't that sound familiar? And she likes Light-kun. 33%"

"That's crazy!"

"Before this case I would have agreed. But before this case I thought Shinigami were a fairy tale. Perhaps a similar spirit of vengeance has possesses Light-kun, one that drives him to kill."

"I'm not Kira!" Light hissed, trying not to disturb their four-footed "hostess." "And she likes you too, you know! Otherwise you wouldn't be alive…!"

L looked thoughtful. "I wonder if Light-kun likes me too."

Light sputtered _"What?"_ and tried to mask his growing horror. Perhaps L had heard his "confession" after all…

"By your own logic, Light-kun—why else would Kira keep me alive? Especially when I am such a threat to him?"

L couldn't peel his eyes away from how Light squirmed as Mama Tiger insisted on giving him a bath. The detective gave a rare smile. "She likes you," he repeated needlessly as he watched the tiger with Light and pondered on how it really wasn't fair-deadly killers had no right looking so adorable.

Light cried in alarm—with a rip, there went his pants.

"Oh my, she really likes you."

"Oh god!" Light groaned. He did not trust all those teeth so near such a sensitive area…

"But surely Light-kun is used to it. After all you have the attentions of Ms. Amane."

"That's a-AH a cheap shot!"

"…Though I do believe Tiger-chan has more respect for personal boundaries."

"Stop it! _Eruko!_ " Light whined at the tigress as it kept licking down _there._ Light's heart hammered in his chest as the tigress locked eyes with him and then, to Light's relief she finally moved on... Light was disconcerted. It was almost as if she understood him...

"Eruko?" L asked in confusion.

"She uh… reminds me of you..."

At L's blank stare Light elaborated "She's irritating… rough… and can't keep her damn tongue to herself!" Light grumbled as the tigress continued licking and snuggling against him.

"Now Light-kun, we have never been THAT intimate."

Light fidgeted uncomfortably, naked under the detective's stare. L was looking at him like he would indeed like to be…

A ghost of a smile graced the detective's features as Light began blushing adorably.

"Misa was right about you…"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Light-kun… But then again I don't know if I want sloppy seconds."

Light shot him a death glare truly worthy of Kira. "34%" L warned and the glare intensified. L's sugar-deprived mind was easily entertained by the fact that he could get such a rise out of Light and the normally stoical detective broke out into a giggling fit. To Light who never saw such a range of emotion displayed by the mysterious detective it was a very unnerving sound.

" _'O wherefore, nature didst thou lions frame, / Since lion vile hath here deflowered my dear / Which is—no, no, which **was** —the fairest dame...'_" L quoted between giggles.

"You're such an ass!"

"Light-kun does not appreciate the classics? It's from…"

" _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ " Light answered quickly out a desire not to "lose" to the detective, even on something as simple as trivial knowledge. "…What?" he demanded at L's intensified staring.

"It's just I'm surprised you knew that—every time Misa makes us watch anything romance-related you throw a hissy fit—"

"I do _NOT!_ "

"Alright, you _complain_ about how it's a stupid waste of time. And something which involves such big complex foreign words seems beyond Misa's tastes…"

Light sighed. "There IS such a thing as a translation you know. And can you lay off Misa? She's annoying but she _IS_ our friend and she's been very helpful to the case. She isn't _that_ dumb…"

L gave Light a _look._

"…most of the time." He amended. "Really Ryuuzaki, with the way you make fun of her I'd almost say you were jealous—"

"Perhaps Kira is interested in it for the references to magic and spirits of the night…"

Light groaned. "Ryuuzaki… please. I'm starving, I'm exhausted, and I was just molested by a tiger…"

L's immature giggling fit intensified into full on _laughter._ Light stared at the detective's strange behavior.

"Alright, who are you and what have you done with L?" Light snapped before realizing that the same was true for L, well two out of three complaints and if he was running this low on sugar maybe it was affecting his brain...

L looked alarmed.

"The L I know doesn't have a sense of humor." Light elaborated.

That stung. He had a sense of humor! He just chose to show his _suspect_ his poker face. The detective sighed. "Admittedly I haven't had sustenance in some time. Perhaps it is affecting my reasoning abilities a bit."

"A bit…"

"But I'm me… at least I think I'm me…"

Light was thrown by how uncertain L sounded. "Wait, you have to make sure?"

L looked aside. "You wouldn't understand." Naturally Light with his sheltered life couldn't relate to having an obsessive stalker who tried to find out EVERYTHING about you and then tried to steal away everything that made you _you._ At least as far as L could see because he refused to look in the mirror.

"Light-kun, a word of advice. If we get out of this and you ever see a "me" that enjoys eating strawberry jam—run away as fast as you can."

Light's stomach roared at the mention of food of any kind and Light knew that at that moment if he were to encounter someone carrying strawberry jam or food of any kind he probably wouldn't heed L's sage warnings-and he would KILL for said strawberry jam... or (more likely) die trying…

Just then the detective stifled a yelp as the tigress turned her attentions to him, her rough tongue rubbing harshly through his long raven locks.

"It looks like it's your turn, Ryuuzaki!"

"You don't have to sound so happy about it, Light-kun."


	4. Legendary

The detective kept his mouth a straight line as the tigress laved his face with her rough pink tongue; his large black eyes only betrayed the faintest glimmer of concern and discomfort—it was pretty much the same reaction whenever Light touched him (L wasn't fond of _any_ physical contact and that went double for creatures that would probably kill him.)

"I did not realize her tongue is so rough..." L murmured in contrition.

Light smirked sadistically. "Did you know a tiger's tongue is especially evolved to scrape meat from bone?"

"35%."

"The _hell!_ " Light demanded indignantly.

"I _was_ trying to apologize, Light-kun" _...and you threw it back in my face._ "But you seem to enjoy seeing me in pain and are gloating at my current predicament. 36%"

 _No more than you did!_ "What! I just thought I'd share an interesting fact," Light said innocently.

L glared coldly.

"I'm sorry if you didn't find it interesting..." Light said as he began to rise to his feet while the tigress was occupied to begin the process of finding the scraps of his clothing. His senses were dulled by exhaustion, hunger, and pain but he had a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, like he was forgetting something— _something important..._ and it had something to do with his clothes beyond freezing to death… but before he could continue that train of thought Eruko paused in her "L washing" to snarl at Light.

"Wha— H-hey. Eruko, I thought we were pals!"

"I don't think she wants you doing that," L said in his usual bland tone of voice. "Perhaps she feels threatened by your movements. I suppose we are enjoying Eruko's hospitality so if Eruko-sama wants us to crawl, I'd say it's best we abide by her wishes."

"Yeah okay..." Light shrunk away from the snarling fangs. Satisfied, the tigress resumed licking L. Light sighed. Of course escape was quite impossible. He couldn't move very far anyway, what with the chain and all, and in any case he wasn't leaving without Ryuuzaki—no matter how much of an ass he was being.

Light huddled up against the wild tiger and his arch nemesis. The soft white and black fur of the tiger tickled against his bare skin. It wasn't as freezing cold as it was outside the cave (Light wondered why that was. It was protected from the frigid winds but how deep were they underground? Perhaps they were near some sort of geothermal vent?) but it was still plenty _cold_ in the tiger's den especially since he was stripped of his clothing (damn this was humiliating!) but he was even more cold and miserable. Light did his best to ignore the cramping, twisting of nausea and hunger pangs of his stomach, bringing his knees to his chest and unconsciously sitting in a very L-like position as he huddled against them for warmth.

L himself mercifully refrained from commenting on Light's brooding and only watched the contours of Light's exposed back with his owlish eyes. His nemesis was truly a beautiful man. It was such a shame that he was rotten to the core.

_Did you really mean it? What you said to me before?_

The detective felt something twist in his gut as he realized that even if Light was Kira he couldn't help but be glad to have him here with him. Though he had stretched the truth when he called Light his friend (L was a letter, a symbol. He was not just a man but something more and so he didn't have friends... and most certainly he didn't make friends with his suspects) he would hate to be here alone in the cold and the dark, trapped with a wild animal of which he knew nothing of its motives. And though Light was no doubt Kira, and therefore his enemy, he was at least an enemy that L intimately understood and so that made him sort of a friend (he was the closest thing L had in any case). Really, they probably understood each other better than most old married couples...

L was jolted from that line of thought as the tigress began ripping his clothes off just as it had done to Light. L managed to avoid reacting... much. At least L imagined he was more dignified about his ordeal than Light had been, which was always a plus.

"Where are the cubs?" Light suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" L asked in a hushed tone lest he upset the creature that was currently nuzzling into his privates. Light saw L was in that stage of his "cleaning" and blushed, but forced himself to watch. He wanted to make sure that the tiger did nothing worse to L than what was done to him.

As L squirmed beneath the tiger's tongue Light put a comforting hand on his shoulder and found himself smiling stupidly as he watched the awkwardly writhing detective getting licked lovingly by a Siberian tiger.

Ryuuzaki looks so... _cute_ like this. 

Light supposed he had enough to worry about at the moment. Whatever it was—that thing he couldn't remember through the fog of hunger and pain—it couldn't be that important. He was just grateful to be alive, to be alive with Ryuuzaki...

 _Interesting._ L of course noticed the way Light was looking at him...

"L doesn't seem to be in heat."

" _What?_ "

"Sorry, I meant Eruko." Light ignored the slip and continued on his own tangential, totally unrelated train of thought. "And she doesn't look pregnant. So where are the cubs?"

"I see what you're saying. Tigers mate year round but they are most likely to do so in April and in November. You're right, Light-kun. She should definitely have..."

"She lost her..." _No way..._

Light turned back around to talk to L again (and tried not to be so obvious about his staring).

They both fell silent as the tigress made another rumbling noise and cuddled against them both. A moment of understanding passed between the two genii.

"It's not logical..."

"Ryuuzaki, it's an animal! You can't expect it to play by your rules."

"I must confess my experience with animals is limited. How about you, Light-kun?"

Light looked away, his overgrown bangs falling into his face. "No, dad never let me have a pet..."

"...That he knew about in any case... Tell me, do Shinigami take a lot of care to raise?"

"Ha ha. Yes, that's very funny, Ryuuzaki." Light glanced back again to see his reaction and saw that Ryuuzaki had that look on his face that seemed to suggest he had gone into "extreme thinking mode" which was exceptionally comical seeing as he was doing it as the tiger lapped at his squirming, naked body. Light was beginning to suspect that L saying he _had_ to sit a certain way or his deductive powers would be decreased by 40% was pure bullshit.

"I suppose there are accounts of wild animals rescuing humans but it's so rare..."

"Well it's happening now—" Light interjected.

L's breath suddenly hitched again as the tiger moved on to licking at his toes. Light had long suspected that L had a foot fetish.

_That's pretty much confirmed now. Good to know._

"We can only hope so. I'm still not convinced she didn't invite us here... for dinner."

"Ryuuzaki, she can hear you and that's hardly polite."

"I was teasing you before, Light-kun. Do you think politeness is going to matter to a tiger?"

"I think... I think she can understand us. In any case being polite can't hurt. Look, we can only hope that this is one of those rare exceptions to the rule. I mean… she saved us. It wouldn't make any sense to kill us now!"

"It's an animal, Light-kun. You can't expect it to play by your rules." L echoed Light's earlier words. Of course Light knew that if the tiger intended to kill them there wasn't anything they could do about it. In that way it was kind of like living with a Shinigami. Light preferred to stay positive and focus on the things he could control. Like Ryuuzaki's mood. L's negative attitude about their hopeless situation was beginning to annoy him so Light attempted to cheer him up.

"Say Ryuuzaki, you know maybe one day there will be a story about us. Imagine it. The Legend of Light and L!"

"You mean _Kira_ and L."

Light shot him a dark look. "The Legend of _Light_ and L—" Light insisted.

"Light-kun, has anyone ever told you, you seem to have delusions of grandeur?" L interrupted again to ask. "And why is your name first anyway? Shouldn't it be the Legend of L and Kira?"

"No, _Light and L._ Kind of like Romulus and Remus…"

"Romulus and Remus. You mean like how Romulus killed Remus and then went on to rule an empire and was later deified? 37%."

"There's just _no talking to you,_ is there?" Light huffed. "No I meant like there'd be a legend of us like there was a legend about them, how a wild wolf saved lost children..."

"A wolf is not a tiger" the detective pointed out argumentatively.

L stared as Light rolled his eyes, again marveling that Light resembled a normal teenager instead of a madman with a God complex. "Yes, I must say your deductive skills are excellent."

"Do you really think a tiger intends to raise us like feral children? We aren't _children,_ Light-kun."

"Maybe... you were right..."

"About you being Kira?" L asked innocently.

"What? _No!_ Dammit Ryuuzaki! I was going to say that maybe Eruko finds us childish enough."

L stuck out his tongue.

Just then the tiger finished up washing L and cuddled up against them both. They didn't have much of a choice seeing as it was several hundred pounds of cat doing the cuddling. The tiger rolled over onto her side, and Light could see now that Eruko was most definitely female as she exposed her many teats that stood out on against her snowy coat.

"Light-kun... how did that Legend go again?"

"Romulus and Remus? I think they drank the wolf's milk to surviv—"

Light and L stopped and looked at each other again, looked at the tigress, looked at each other again the whole spectrum of emotions painted across their faces.

"I-I think she... "

"...She wants us to..."

Light decided that this was the weirdest thing to ever happen to him and that included finding a killer notebook, having a Shinigami show up in his bedroom, and being chained to his eternal rival.

Starvation won out over any misgivings or disgust or shame that the genii might have felt about the situation—they were long past caring. Luckily, the tigress permitted it as they scrambled over each other like a pair of overgrown cubs, their naked bodies pressed close together as they competed to suckle at the tiger's teats getting mouthfuls of fur as they sucked. The tigress rumbled contentedly as the boys suckled, her paws making biscuits like an overgrown pussy cat—claws like scimitars flexing and retracting.

Light had to force himself to slow down—though ravenous with hunger he was still feeling sick from his ill-thought out experiment with the Death Note, but he didn't think about that, or much of anything else at the moment as the rich, warm milk flowed into his mouth and down his throat. L had to slow down as well too as he drank the rich, creamy substance so fast that he almost choked. The tiger's milk wasn't as sweet as L would have liked but it was plenty rich (all that was missing was… maybe some strawberries?) The detective drank and drank until she was dry. L turned and saw how Light was sucking at his much more slowly—some of the white liquid was escaping down Light's chin. Still hunger-crazed L pounced, lashing out with his tongue to lick the streaming cream right off Light's face.

"Ryuuza—" Light began to protest when L plunged his tongue deep into Light's mouth. The detective wasn't known to respect personal boundaries even at the best of times but now when he was starving, exhausted, and sugar-deprived—honestly, Light should have known all bets were off. L was very thorough, he cleaned along Light's tongue and the back of his teeth for any traces of the milk. As he pressed close against the warm body of his chain-mate, scouring his hot mouth for any traces of that life-giving liquid L became aware of a strange purring sound. The detective smirked when he realized it wasn't coming from the tiger.

"R-Ryuuzaki..." Light panted, blushing furiously after L had reluctantly pulled away for air. Light idly wondered how L somehow came to be sitting in his lap so that he was sandwiched between the warm bodies of the detective and the tiger.

Light's hands wandered and he realized just how easily he could count the bones of Ryuuzaki's ribs and felt a flaring of compassion towards the other man (his nemesis, his rival… his _equal,_ and yes, _the greatest man he had ever known_ )—both of them were fairly thin to begin with but after starving in the wilderness L seemed so much lighter than he did before. Like he was fading away… Light was overtaken by that irrational, feverish thought: _Don't leave me. Not after all this!_

L wore a rare grin as he gazed at his suspect, prim and proper Light-kun who was now flushed and panting, his hair a disheveled mess thanks to the work of the tiger's tongue, and a suggestive looking milk mustache still gracing his lips, and decided he liked him like this. Especially the way Light was looking at him. It was such an interesting reaction—Light appeared shocked and embarrassed but not angry—far from it. L was surprised when Light clung to him desperately as if he feared that if he let go he'd suddenly cease to exist.

"You know I couldn't just let you waste food, Light-kun," L explained softly, his soft baritone was colored with amusement.

There was a flash of irritation across the other man's features before he wordlessly shot out, grabbing L by the back of the neck, his fingers entwined in his raven hair, to pull him into another bruising kiss.


End file.
